Slide fastener



Patented Apr. 11, 1950 SLIDE FASTENER Howard J. Murphy, Lynnfleld, Mesa, assignor to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 26, 1945, Serial No. 579,746

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to slide fasteners of the type comprising a pair of interlocking coils capable of being interlocked and disengaged by the action of a slider movable longitudinally thereon, and aims generally to provide improved means for securing the slider coils to their respective attaching tapes or stringers.

Slide fasteners of the interlocking coil type, in general, comprise a pair of co-mating, oppositely wound, open helical coils of metal or any of a wide variety of organic plastic materials, each coil being attached to a tape or stringer. Each coll should be so securely attached to its stringer that the lengthwise spacing between successive turns is slightly less than the major dimension of the stock of the coil in order that the intermediate portions of each coil may be squeezed between corresponding portionsof the other coil. It is also important from the standpoint of ease in operation of the slider that each coil be securely attached along an edge of its stringer so as to prevent twisting of the coil on the stringer, and maintain the axis of the coil in proper alignment with the plane of the stringer.

Furthermore, in slide fasteners of the interlocking coil type there is danger of disengaging the slider from the coil. This is particularly true when the slider is operated quickly to close the coils and one of the coils happens to be bent angularly, presenting a spacing between certain convolutions of a coil in substantial alignment with the marginal side flanges of the slider.

The present invention aims to improve generally the construction of slide fasteners of the interlocking coil type as to overcome the abovestated disadvantages.

' One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of an improved construction of coil type slide fastener wherein the slider is prevented from being disengaged from the coil.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved construction of stringer tape and coil wherein the tape is woven to and securely connected to the coil.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved construction of stringer tape and coil in which the coil is attached to the tape by a weft thread of the tape looped a plurality of times about each convolution of the coil to properly secure the coil to the tape.

Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of tape and associated coil as to produce a heater, less conspicuous and hence more attractive slide fastener.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel type and construction of coil-carrying stringer tapes.

A still further object of the invention resides in the improvement of the method of making the stringer tapes as well as for attaching the tapes to the coils. l

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those persons skilled in the art from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and annexed specification illustrating and describing one preferred construction embodying the invention as well as a preferred method of manufacture thereof.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmental front elevation of a portion of a coil type slide fastener according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail front elevation of a portion of a pair of interlocking coils and attached stringer tapes according to a preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the slide fastener shown in Fig. 1, as taken on the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged horizontal sectional view as taken on the lin 4-4 of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner of attaching the stringer tape to a coil; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are schematic views illustrating the method of weaving the stringer tape to the coil according to one form of the invention.

Slide fasteners of the type in which the fastener elements comprise a pair of co-mating interlocking coils are well known. The coils are usually formed of continuous lengths of a ribbon or filament of suitable material, such as metal or plastic. These filaments or ribbons are usually of non-circular cross section and are helically wound while twisting to provide a coil of desired length, the convolutions of which are spaced apart, a distance less than the thickness of the stock.

As stated, the coils may be made of metal or of any of a wide variety of organic plastic materials, for example solid polymers of styrene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride or methyl methacrylate et cetera or resinous copolymers of 'such compounds with other unsaturated organic compounds. Such organic plastics are preferred since they may readily be colored and the filaments are sufliciently stiff and elastic to retain their shape after being formed, but are sufficlently flexible so that they may be easily bent without breaking.

Referring to the drawings, the fastener of the tapes I-2, each having attached thereto one of a pair of comating interlocking fastener coils 34 of suitable construction. The coils are pro vided with a slider 5 which may be of conventional form provided with plates or sides 6, each having marginal side flanges I and connected near their upper ends by a neck or wedge 8 which cooperates with the marginal side flanges to form a substantially Y-shaped coil-receiving channel. The inner free edges 9 of the marginal side flanges I are disposed on opposite sides of the stringer tapes I and 2 and are spaced from the tapes so as not to unduly wear the tapes as the slider is moved longitudinally back and forth thereon.

It has heretofore been proposed, in a copending application of John H. Kohler, Serial Number 578,240, filed February 16, 1945, now matured into Patent Number 2,497,821 as a means of preventing accidental disengagement of the slider from one or both of the coils, to provide the tape with large diameter continuous beads on one or both sides of the tape. This consruction is satisfactory from the standpoint of providing a continuous guide for the slider, but it increases the width of the fastening and the slider to the point where the fastening is less attractive in appearance.

According to my invention, the tape is of woven construction embodying a web portion In and one or more flange or wing portions II and I 2 along one edge of the web and to which the successive convolutions of the coil are attached. The web and flanges of the stringer tape may be of substantially uniform thickness and the flanges may be of such width as to provide 'a retaining guide for the slider which may be of the usual minimum width. Additionally, the use of relatively wide flanges on the stringer tape provides a coverfor the side edges of the coils so that only an intermediate part of the coil is exposed to view when the fastener is closed, thus enhancing the appearance of the fastening.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention each of the stringer tapes I and 2 comprise a web I I and edge wings or flanges II and I2 formed of woven fabric material and including warp threads and a weft thread. The warp threads conveniently are of uniform size though this is not essential to the invention and the web III with the edge wings or flanges II-I2 form a stringer tape of T-shaped cross section.

The fastener coils I4 may be of any suitable shape and construction and as herein illustrated they comprise helical circular windings of a filament non-circular in cross section, the filament being twisted 360 in each winding or convolution. The coils 34 are co-mating and may be interlocked together by the movement of the slider as will be understood. Each coil 3 and 4 is connected to an edge of a stringer tape I or 2 and preferably to the flanges or wings III2. The particular construction of the stringer tapes and of the manner in which they are woven to the coils will be best understood from Figs. 5 and 6, depicting one method of making the tapes.

Referrin to Figs. 5 and 6, the warp threads are illustrated in parallel groups of web warp threads and wing or flange warp threads, it being understood that these warp threads are appropriately separated by the loom heddle topermit the passage of the shuttle. For convenience, the endmost threads of the group of web warp threads are designated I0l0*, the endmost threads of the group forming the wing II, as I I'-'-I I and 4 the endmost threads of the group forming the wing I2, as I2I2 It will also be understood that a preformed coil 3 or 4 is fed to the loom adjacent the warp threads and in the path of the shuttle.

In the particular stringer tape illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 there are eighteen (18) warp threads in the web I0 within the group between III and I0 and eight (8) warp threads in each of the wings or flanges "-42, within the group designated between II'II and I2'I2*, and for a particular weave selected there are sixteen (16) picks of the shuttle for each coil convolution of the fastener coil. It is to be understood, however, that the,above is not critical and is merely illustrative, as obviously the number of warp threads as well as the number of picks and hence the number of weft threads per convolution of-the coil may be varied considerably. In Figs. 5 and 6 the weft thread of the stringer tape is illustrated as a single line and the designating arrows thereon indicate the course and pick number of the shuttle. The cycle of weaving for any single convolution of the coil is as follows:

At the start of the cycle the shuttle moves from right to left, alternately between the warp threads of the flange or wing I2 between the warp thread I2 and the next adjacent thread of the wing I2 as indicated by the arrow designated A (Fig. 5). The weft thread is carried by the shuttle over and around the endmost warp thread I2 of the wing I2 and the shuttle then makes the second pick, indicated by arrow B (Fig. 5) The second pick B is an idle pick, i. e. the wing or flange is not woven, and the shuttle passes under the coil 3, which momentarily may be raised above the path of the shuttle. The coil is then lowered, permitting the shuttle to pass over the coil on its third pick, indicated by the arrow C. This third pick is also an idle pick, the purpose of picks B and C being to loop the weft thread around the coil as at l5 and draw the outermost warp thread I2 of the wing tightly against the coil, as shown in Fig. 4. The fourth pick D is a weaving pick alternating between warp threads of the wing I2, the shuttle passing, at the end'of this pick,'between adjoining warp threads III of the web I0 and I2 of the wing I2 and under the coil which again has been temporarily raised. On the fifth pick, designated E, the shuttle moves over the coil and makes a weaving pick around the warp thread II" and alternately between the warp threads of the wing II, thus binding the coil to the web II) by loop IS.

The sixth pick, designated F, is an idle pick above the warp threads of wing II and under the coil which again has been momentarily raised. The seventh pick, designated G, loops the coil as at II and is an idle pick to draw the end warp thread I I of wing I I tightly against the coil 3. The eighth pick, designated H, is a weaving pick, the shuttle passing alternately between the warp threads of wing II.

The above described manner of weaving the stringer tapes and of attaching them to the coils materially improves the construction of the fastener, as the multiple point attachment of the stringer to each convolution of the coil materially strengthens the fastener structure and holds the coil in proper alignment with the web of the stringer, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

After the weft threads have been attached to a coil convolution, as above described, it is necessary to weave a certain amount of web and wings preparatory to binding or looping thenext adjacent coil convolution. The number of picks of the shuttle will, of course, be determined by the texture of the woven stringer tape, the pitch of the coil and the spacing to be allowed between each coil convolution. Preferably the coils are attached to the stringer such that the spacing between coil convolutions is less than the major cross sectional dimension of the coil stock or filament. It is obviously desirable that the coil convolutions be uniformly spaced and accordingly this spacing is uniformly regulated by a predetermined amount of weavin or number of picks. prior to the next cycle of picks for the succeeding coil convolution.

In the illustrated example I have provided eight weaving picks of the shuttle between the weaving pick H of the wing ll, following the last looping I! of a coil and the first pick for the cycle of the next succeeding coil convolution. These are illustrated by picks designated I, J (Fig. 5) and picks K, L, M, N, O and P (Fig. 6).

This may be effected by weaving back and forth across the web picks I and J (Fig. 5), then weaving back and forth across each of the two wings picks K, L, M and N (Fig. 6), and then back and forth across the web picks O and P (Fig. 6). During this weaving the coil need not be raised or lowered as the weft thread is not looped around the coil. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the numbers of weaving picks I to P will vary depending upon the size of the coil and the size of the weft threads, as are necessary to uniformly space the coil convolutions lengthwise of the tapes I and 2 a distance slightly less than the maximum cross sectional dimension of the coil filament.

As is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the provision of stringers having a web and at least one lateral wing along an edge thereof, provides a continuous guide along the coil for the slider, whose marginal side flanges are outwardly of and enclose the guides. The combined thickness of the stringer web l0 and width of the wing II or l2 should be greater than the spacing between free edges 8 of opposed flanges I on opposite sides of the web. These continuous flanges or wings H and I2 prevent the slider 5 from becoming accidentally disengaged from the coil as it is impossible for the marginal side flanges I to be passed through the spacing between any two adjacent coil convolutions.

A further advantage of the construction is that the stringer wings or flanges are secured at their edges to the coil and cover the edge portions of the coils, exposing to view in frontelevation a- I minimum amount of fastener coil substantially less than the diameter of the coil, thus enhancing the appearance of the fastener.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the particular construction and steps of the method shown and described, as the scope of the invention is best stated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A slide fastener comprising a woven stringer tape of substantially T-shaped cross section including a web and laterally extending wings along one edge thereof, a fastener coil for said tape disposed longitudinally thereof adjacent said laterally extending wings, each of the convolutions of said coil being secured to said wings by passing the weft thread of the tape around the warp threads of a wing in one direction, looping the weft threads around a convolution of the coil, passing the weft thread around the warp threads of the wing in the opposite direction, again looping the weft thread around the convolution of the coil, passing the weft thread around the warp threads of said other wing in one direction, again looping the weft thread around the convolution of the coil, and then passing the weft thread over the warp threads of said other wing in the opposite direction and successively over the warp threads of the web.

HOWARD J. MURPHY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,557,303 Marinsky Oct. 13, 1925 1,715,006 Losey May 28, 1929 1,776,847 Blair Sept. 30, 1930 1,937,297 Sundback Nov. 28, 1933 2,018,099 Sundback Oct. 22, 1935 2,061,073 Hendley Nov. 17, 1936 2,174,892 Poux Oct. 3, 1939 2,236,033 Killmer Mar. 25, 1941 2,296,880 Smith Sept. 29, 1942 2,300,442 Wahl Nov. 3, 1942 2,311,556 Marinsky Feb. 16, 1943 2,333,314 Jones Nov. 2, 1943 

